1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to remote diagnostics and more particularly to satellite-based remote diagnostic system.
2. Prior Art
Service is a critical part in the operational life of an apparatus and includes all necessary functions to make the apparatus useful for its intended purpose. Service as used in this specification includes such activities as re-supplying necessary articles when depleted, making hardware and software updates, placing the apparatus into operation, conducting maintenance, and taking the apparatus out of service. Maintenance, a key part of service, is an important part of the operational life of the apparatus. There are three types of maintenance in the service life of an apparatus, which include: corrective maintenance, where the apparatus is repaired after breakdown; preventive maintenance, where periodic maintenance is performed according to a predetermined schedule; and predictive maintenance, where maintenance is conducted before a predicted apparatus failure based on trend analysis or the like.
Corrective maintenance is to be minimized as it is the most costly of the three maintenance types. Preventive maintenance encompasses the typical contemporary maintenance program for a apparatus but, it too is costly as it requires the apparatus to be out of service even though down-time has been scheduled. The service performed during the time that the apparatus is out of service may not be necessary, adding unnecessary cost because the components that are replaced may have many hours of operational life remaining. The service may also reduce the life of the apparatus' components, as disassembly for inspection can induce wear and introduce debris into the apparatus. Alternatively, when predictive maintenance is performed an attempt is made to identify the specific service an apparatus will need, and the appropriate time the apparatus can best be serviced, both from an apparatus component failure probability point of view and from a logistics point of view. In this way the negative aspects associated with preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance are minimized because most apparatus maintenance procedures can be performed before an impending failure will occur and at a time that is scheduled.
It would also be advantageous to conduct predictive assessment of apparatuses that may be desperately placed at various locations in a large facility or various facilities throughout the world by collecting performance data at a central site for analysis. Commercially available satellite based communications may be well suited for providing a communications service to facilitate the collection of apparatus data from various locations and relaying that data to a central base. There is thus a need to develop a satellite based remote diagnostic system to implement a predictive maintenance diagnostic program.